By now most New Yorkers are well aware of Mayor de Blasio’s attempts at ending the functioning of the horse-drawn carriages in Manhattan and Central Park. Those efforts have thus far been unsuccessful because the Mayor has been unable to get a bill in front of the New York City Council that they can vote on affirmatively. Many New Yorkers are confused as to why this issue has become such an important one for Mayor de Blasio, especially with many other more serious and pressing issues — issues having to do with people, rather than animals — currently facing New York City.
Mayor de Blasio should not pursue any solution that would outlaw the horse-drawn carriages from New York City. First, behind the carriages are their drivers – people that earn a living giving rides to clients in Central Park on the carriages. Most of the drivers, known as Teamsters, are low skilled and would not be able to seamlessly move into another job, another source of income, if the carriages were to be outlawed. It seems senseless to eliminate a job that employs about 2,000 teamsters at the moment.
Second, say what you want, but the horse-drawn carriages are a part of New York City’s and Central Park’s identity — from movies to photos to tourist guides, the horse-drawn carriages In New York City are depicted often.
A better solution for all parties — the Mayor, the Teamsters, and New Yorkers most of whom support keeping the horse-drawn carriages — would be to keep the carriages in function while improving the care and conditions of the horses. Mayor de Blasio’s main talking point has been an argument that the horses are being kept in bad conditions and not cared for as well as they should be. If the Mayor is concerned about horse conditions, instead of eliminating the carriages completely and putting the teamsters out of work, he should pursue a solution that will improve horse conditions while keeping the carriages functioning, thus neither putting people out of work nor stripping NYC of what many say is an integral part of Central Park’s identity. And don’t ben fooled by a budgeting issue – if the Mayor wants better treatment for the horses, he should budget for it from the City budget.
Either way, horse-drawn carriages in Central Park have become what many look forward to, and what New Yorkers are accustomed to. To get rid of them would be to take away one of the few things that give New York City its special old- but-new quality, and a big piece of its magic timelessness.
